Janice Rubin leads a group of women in chanting and meditation at the Hillel Student Center in preparation for Yom Kippur.

Janice Rubin leads a group of women in chanting and meditation at the Hillel Student Center in preparation for Yom Kippur.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, For The Chronicle

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Women dance at the center after learning about chanting and meditation. The program will continue on Monday nights after Yom Kippur as a way for women to reflect on their lives, Rabbi Amy Weiss said.

Women dance at the center after learning about chanting and meditation. The program will continue on Monday nights after Yom Kippur as a way for women to reflect on their lives, Rabbi Amy Weiss said.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, For The Chronicle

Image 3 of 3

Yom Kippur leads followers to meditation

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When Yom Kippur begins at sundown today, meditation will be part of Micki Bronston's solemn observance. It's an ancient tradition that some Jews are rediscovering.

Finding a new way to experience the sacred Day of Atonement was particularly important for Bronston this year. She settled in Houston with her family after Hurricane Katrina devastated their New Orleans home.

"The singing and chanting intrigued me the most," the new member of Congregation Beth Israel said of her introduction to meditation. "It set the right tone for me to look inward.

"I think I was affected by the meditation more because of what I have been through. So many of my senses are closer to the surface, as are my emotions."

She plans to use meditation to focus and deepen her thoughts in synagogue services tonight and Monday.

Considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur involves long services and 25 hours of fasting. During the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Jews reflect on their sins against others and seek reconciliation with those people. On Yom Kippur, a day of reflection and prayer, they ask forgiveness from God for their sins of the past year.

An initiative for women

Bronston was one of several women who learned about Jewish meditation in September from
Janice Rubin
and
Olga Lara
in a program sponsored by the
Initiative for Jewish Women
. The new program will continue on Monday nights after Yom Kippur as a way to encourage women to look inside themselves, said Rabbi
Amy Weiss
.

"I think meditation is a very important tool in preparing for Yom Kippur because that is the time we have to do our soul searching," said Rubin, a local photographer. "That is the day where you really have to take an accounting of who you are, how you might have missed the mark, and how you want to change things in relationship to people and the divine.

"So even as we pray to God, we are judging ourselves, and what better way is there to judge ourselves than through meditation? It's a very valuable tool to help focus the mind."

On Rubin's night to lead, she started with a simple chant: Kol Haneshama Tehallel Yah (Every soul praises God). With a little hesitation, the women began to sing, repeating the chant again and again.

The chanting, Rubin told them, takes the mind to a deeper place and quiets the chatter.

They also meditated silently during the evening, as they will on Yom Kippur.

As the session ended, several women spontaneously began a joyful circle dance, hands held high in the air.

"I was one of the people dancing at the end," Bronston said. "It just seemed so natural."

A long history

Lara, a convert to Judaism, began meditating in 2002, a few years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

"It has really helped me and has become part of my physical, psychological and spiritual program," she said. "When the body is in a relaxed state we are more able to make a connection with God."

What is Jewish meditation? And how does it differ from Buddhist, Hindu or transcendental meditation?

"What makes it Jewish is the imagery we focus on," Lara said. "You don't have to be Jewish to do it, but it has a Jewish framework and a focus on texts, terms and symbolism."

Jewish meditation is not a "meditation into the wilds of nothingness," Rabbi Moishe Traxler, director of Chabad Outreach of Houston, said in a telephone interview.

"These are focused meditations that ponder the greatness of God," he said, describing it as clarifying meditation that brings a person closer to God.

Meditation has a long history in Judaism. The Talmud states that the pious would meditate for one hour before prayer, pray for one hour and meditate for one hour after prayer, Traxler said.

Bobbie Osadchey has been practicing meditation since the 1960s. She led the Jewish segment in Rothko Chapel's yearlong meditation program. There's a time in every Jewish service for silent meditation, she said, "if you choose to do it. There's a fine line between prayer and meditation."

Whether someone prays or meditates is up to the individual, said Osadchey, whose husband is Rabbi Shaul Osadchey.

Nada Chandler, who has a master's degree in Judaic studies, chooses prayer. Her method of communication is study, not contemplation. Quoting a well-known explanation, she said, "When I pray, I talk to God. When I study, God talks to me."

She recognizes, however, that people of many backgrounds "are trying to connect with their spirituality, and they're looking for whatever vehicle will take them there."

Large turnout

Rubin credits that curiosity with the large turnout for a meditative-style service on the second night of Rosh Hashana at Congregation Brith Shalom. About 200 people showed up — twice the number expected, she said.

Axelrad discovered meditation after realizing "something was spiritually missing" in his life. He since has led seminars and spoken at synagogues on the benefits of meditation, especially in preparing for Yom Kippur.

For Jews who want to meditate on this holy day, Axelrad recommends they practice walking meditation during breaks in the long services. He also suggests they arrive at the synagogue 30 minutes early. Sit and meditate silently and concentrate on a single subject, perhaps an estranged family member, he advises.

"Maybe you want to use this season to reverse that," he said. "That will create a focus so that the whole service will become more meaningful."